David T. Kessler

Biography

Painter David T. Kessler is renowned for creating the illusion of depth on flat surfaces. He achieves his optical illusions by applying transparent layers of airbrushed paint on abraded and polished aluminum, adding in physical elements to refract light with various wire brushes. As he explains, “the dual concerns of working with simulation: refracted light simulating paint, and hybridization: the use of aluminum, wire brushes and paint; are an attempt to create an image working within some kind of context that is post-modern.” Kessler’s preferred subject is abstracted waterscapes that incorporate realistic imagery, coaxing viewers into shifting “their perception to accommodate the incongruity of light being reflected from the metal surface, while at the same time being absorbed by the painted seas,” as he describes.